Each institution for early and preschool education is a place of common learning, and is characterized by togetherness and equal participation. The creation of a new paradigm of settings for the development of early childhood and upbringing leads to changes in the way of leading, because educational institutions are required to focus on more modern solutions than traditional ones. Therefore, the field of management and leadership has gained great interest of theorists and scientists who have begun a new era of theoretical definition of leadership style models with the aim of finding solutions that will lead to more successful development of the organization. The paper provides an overview of theoretical models of leadership styles, and then some of them are presented in the light of the organization of the work of institutions for early and preschool education. Special attention is paid to the role of the principal because the need for professionalization of this vocation is increasingly emphasized as the main condition for improving the quality of the educational system. The paper emphasizes the importance of quality selection of leadership style, and the introduction of changes in the field of professional development of principals and all persons involved in decision-making and problem solving. Also, the penultimate chapter of the paper is dedicated to previous empirical research conducted on the topic of leadership styles.